T20 World Cup | IND vs PAK: Traditional rivalry returns as India, Pakistan begin campaign
The broadcasters had to wait for more than two years to release another ‘Mauka Mauka’ advertisement as India had last played Pakistan in the 50-over World Cup in 2019. They could have come face to face in 2020 had the Covid-19 situation wasn’t there. BUT…BUT…BUT…Here we are some moments away from the most awaited, exciting and high-voltage drama that will take place in Dubai on a Sunday evening. YESSS…India will be up against Pakistan in an ICC tournament fixture. Pakistan have already made some said and unsaid statements ahead of the clash. For instance, captain Babar Azam is pretty confident and said, “the team is not thinking of the past but the future’. Well, that’s certainly a good approach as the game is all about the present and not past records. Second, Pakistan announced the 12-man squad ahead of the India clash. On the other hand, India captain Virat Kohli has admitted that Pakistan is a strong side to face and it would require plan and execution to dominate them. “Pakistan are a strong team, we need to come up with a strong plan and execute it well,” he said ahead of the match. Well, these bold statements, media bytes can go on forever but the bottom line is that whenever there is an India-Pakistan clash scheduled, the two teams have to start from scratch. Match Details India vs Pakistan, Match 16, Super 12 Group 2 Venue: Dubai International Cricket Stadium, Dubai Date & Time: October 24th, at 7:30 PM IST and 6:00 PM Local Time Live Streaming: Star Sports Network and Disney+Hotstar Pitch Report The track in Dubai might have something on offer for the batsmen but the key would be to get their eye in first. The spinners on the other hand can get some help in the middle overs. If you win the toss, elect to field first. Team News India: India captain Virat Kohli has said that all-rounder Hardik Pandya is slowly moving towards the stage where he can bowl at least a couple of overs in the tournament. “Hardik (Pandya) is getting to the stage where he can bowl a couple of overs at some point during the tournament,” Virat Kohli told reporters on Saturday. Pakistan: Pakistan announced the 12-man squad for this important encounter against India and the management has included the likes of experienced Mohammad Hafeez and Shoaib Malik. Current form The India batters were on song in both their warm-up matches. From Rohit Sharma to KL Rahul and Ishan Kishan, the batsmen just took the onus on themselves and chased down the target in a pretty authoritative way on both the occasions. On the other hand, the Pakistan bowlers suffered hammering from Rassie van der Dussen and Temba Bavuma during the practice game against South Africa. Van der Dussenn struck a century and helped his side chase down a target of 187 runs. Well, the warm-up matches are considered as the dress rehearsal for the main tournament and they give an opportunity to the team management to make those small tweaks. Pakistan think tank would be keeping an eye on how the Indian batters have been performing. Concerning form of Virat Kohli India skipper Virat Kohli’s hundred drought is increasing with every passing day but what is more concerning is his form with the bat. In the recent outings in UAE during the IPL and warm-up match, Kohli hasn’t really had a great time. In the last five innings that he has batted, Kohli has only managed to cross the 20-run mark twice while has a couple of single-digit scores as well to his name. Moreover, the right-hander’s batting strike rate isn’t that quick and after he confirmed that he would be playing at number three spot, Kohli would be required to fine tune his scoring rate so that the other batters aren’t under the pump. Problem of plenty for India If you want to see an example of ‘turning fortunes’, Ishan Kishan it is. The left-handed batsman has been on a ruthless run in the past three matches and has notched up fifties on all the three occasions. Looking at the young lad’s batting, it gives you a certain feeling that he is up there to prove something. But this ‘but’ wouldn’t really bring much joy for Ishan’s fans. Despite the fact that the youngster is in that good touch, it’s difficult for him to find a place in the final XI as the top-order comprises Rohit Sharma, KL Rahul and Kohli while Rishabh Pant would be India’s first-choice wicket-keeper batsman. Apart from this, Pant is someone who can take on the bowlers from the word go while Ishan takes a bit of time to get his eye in. ‘Steady’ Babar Azam Pakistan captain Babar Azam has been in sublime form in the past few T20 matches that he has played barring the last warm-up matches. He was among runs during the domestic T20 tournament but the right-hander is another batter whose scoring rate is a bit of a problem at the highest level. Babar has the ability to score runs but not as quickly as the other batsmen in the line up. So, he can play the role of keeping things steady for his side and be the anchor throughout the innings. Riding on experience Pakistan have included Mohammad Hafeez and Shoaib Malik in the squad of 12 for the India game. Both the players have played a lot of cricket all around the globe and are rated in the list of some of the finest batters that world cricket has seen. Apart from this, both Hafeez and Malik can be handy with the ball too which adds a lot of quality to that formidable unit of the Pakistan team. Probable XI India: Rohit Sharma, Lokesh Rahul, Virat Kohli (c), Suryakumar Yadav, Rishabh Pant (wk), Hardik Pandya, Ravindra Jadeja, Shardul Thakur, Mohammad Shami, Jasprit Bumrah, Varun Chakravarthy Pakistan: Mohammad Rizwan (wk), Babar Azam (c), Fakhar Zaman, Mohammad Hafeez, Shoaib Malik, Asif Ali, Imad Wasim, Shadab Khan, Hasan Ali, Shaheen Afridi, Haris Rauf CE Fantasy XI Mohammad Rizwan, Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, KL Rahul, Babar Azam, Asif Ali, Ravindra Jadeja (C), Mohammed Shami, Shardul Thakur, Varun Chakravarthy, Shaheen Afridi (VC)